The Wind Rises

release year: 2013
genre: animated drama
viewing setting: theater 8/23/23

synopsis: This tale follows the life of a young man who dreams of designing airplanes.

impressions: This mixed top-notch animation with a compelling life story about a young man with a dream - in this case, to build airplanes, which meant one thing in pre-WWII Japan. So he's the guy who ultimately designed the Zero plane, but there's also a lot of other life experience here. The part I didn't understand as well involved the love of his life, who he 1) waited too long to join with, and 2) basically abandoned when she was sick, in favor of his work. There were some fantastical dream sequences in which he talked to a famed European aircraft engineer.

acting: Acting doesn't really apply to animated features, but the voice work was all very well-done.

final word: Interesting (if methodical) drama with superior animation.

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